East Java the best prepared for autonomy, says Affan

SURABAYA (JP): East Java is province best prepared for autonomy, despite certain problems that must be dealt with by the central government, a government official said here on Tuesday.

Affan Gaffar, an assistant to the state minister of regional autonomy, said in a one-day meeting with the province's regents, that the province had made strategic and appropriate steps to anticipate regional autonomy.

"The restructuring of ministries' offices and sharing of provincial revenues have been well prepared. The province has taken the right steps," Affan, who is a lecturer at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, said.

He said, however, the sharing of tax revenues between the central government and the province was as yet unclear and awaiting central government approval. "Regulation No. 25/1999 on financial sharing between the central government and the provinces has yet to accommodate the provinces' demand. Regulation No. 18/1997 on taxation should be revised to support the implementation of the regulation on financial sharing."

The draft of the revision of regulation No. 18/1997 will be submitted to the House of Representatives in September, he said.

The revised regulation should be fair in accommodating provinces, Affan said. "Provinces in Java are not as rich in natural resources as Riau, Aceh, East Kalimantan or Irian Jaya. If revenues from natural resources only go to the provincial administration, provinces in Java will get nothing."

Speakers of all provincial legislative councils also attended the meeting at the Grahadi gubernatorial hall.

Law No. 25/2000 on autonomy was signed by President Abdurrahman Wahid on May 6, 2000.

The regulation, designed to delineate authority to regional autonomy in 2001, divides authority between central government and provinces in 23 fields, including agriculture, maritime, mining and energy, forestry and plantations, industry and trade, cooperatives, investment, tourism, labor, health, education and culture, social affairs, spatial planning, land, residential settlements, public works, communications/transportation, environment, public administration, development of regional autonomy, fiscal balance, information and laws.

Observers have said that the regulation is not designed as a power-sharing scheme between the central government and the provinces, but rather as a way of promoting democracy and an equitable distributing wealth between the two.

Another speaker at the meeting, Ramlan Surbakti, said that there had been tendency for provincial councillors to deny annual reports made by regents or mayors in a bid to topple them.

"According to regulation No. 22/1999 on regional administration, such reports are progress reports containing budgetary and administrative policy administration. Any shortcomings in the reports must be corrected," said Ramlan, who is an expert staff to the state minister of regional autonomy.

"Requests to unseat regents or mayors can be made by councillors if indications of a crisis of trust among the people are found or after their accountability reports at the end of their tenures. The president has the right to dismiss regents or mayors. Councillors must be aware of this before the regulation on regional autonomy takes in effect in 2001," Ramlan said. (nur/sur)